There’s gonna be an extra second on Dec 31 and we thought of some inane things you can do

A second could change your life.

Tan Xing Qi | December 30, 2016, 08:45 AM

According to scientists everywhere, there’s going to be an extra second added to our lives on Dec 31 this year.

But before we explain what the heck is a leap second, feel free to waste some seconds with these things you can do in one second.

It’ll just take a second, trust us.

1. Do a triple take

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Too much of an eye-candy to be true? Do a triple take instead. Just remember to stretch your sternocleidomastoid muscle first.

2. Lubricate your eyes

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While you are at it, remember to blink, which is essential to a healthy eye. Which is also crucial so that you can do a triple take again.

3. Let go of whatever that is left in your tank

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And by tank we mean your bladder. Find it hard to clear the last remnant of pee? The leap second might help.

4. Execute more dabs

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Because one dab is never enough.

5. Hold the lift for someone

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6. Get to know more friends

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By swiping left or right.

7. Do a screenshot of 23:59:60 (UTC) or 07:59:60 (Singapore time)

Source: NASA Source: NASA

And then post on social media. Good way to attract attention with your discovery of the leap second.

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Ok, back to the main story: What is a leap second?

Like a leap year, an extra second is added at the stroke of midnight usually on the last day of June or December. The last leap second was added on June 30 last year.

Here comes the geek calvary: Earth’s slowing rotation makes the actual length of a day 2.5 ms longer than the 86,400 seconds of a normal day measured by atomic clocks. About every 1.5 years, the difference between our atomic clocks and solar time adds up to about one second.

This addition of an extra second is important because it prevents things from crashing (ie: stock market and in ships/planes’ case, into each other) and guarantees life goes on as usual.

Ok, clearly we don’t know our science so here’s a video if you have a second.

Wait. Of course you do.

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This sponsored post helps fuel Mothership’s writers for many leap seconds.